A while back I asked our long time customer and friend Alicia to write this post. Alicia is quite the stain removal wizz and our ‘go to’ gal when we get frantic emails from customers about something happening to their doll! Thank you so much Alicia for this! xo
I cannot count the number of times I’ve gotten a frantic message saying something like My daughter put lipgloss all over her doll’s face! or My toddler colored all over our doll with a pen, what do I do? Every time, I try to calmly walk the worried mama through the steps necessary to clean up their doll and most of the time, the stains are totally gone by the time we complete the cleaning process.
I think the term handmade makes a lot of people worry that the dolls are fragile and easy to damage, but what I have learned over the years is that they are a lot sturdier than they appear. These beautiful creations are meant to be played with and they will survive a lot of love and play.
I am hoping that this blog entry will serve as a go-to guide for dolly cleaning. I will try to come up with every possible scenario and lay out the steps necessary to remove the stains or damage, but I am certain I cannot conceive of everything a child might think to do.
LIPGLOSS AND CHAPSTICK
The most common stain I hear about is lipgloss or chapstick. Children seem to want to make sure dolly’s lips are nice and soft. Most lipglosses and chapsticks are petroleum, wax, or oil based, so their stains are cleaned in the same manner.
First you want to wet the stained area with some lukewarm water. Next, using a q-tip or clean cotton cloth, add a dab of dish soap like Dawn. Something without dye in it might make you feel safer about the process. Use the q-tip to work the soap in with the grain of the fabric. If the stain seems stubborn or is quite colorful, you can use something a bit stiffer to work the soap in, like your fingernail. Always work with the grain of the fabric, you don’t want to cause unnecessary stretching or pilling.
After you’ve worked the soap in, add more water to the stain and blot up the excess with a clean cotton cloth or dye-free paper towel. If you feel like the spot could use another round of soap, repeat those steps. If it looks as if the stain is gone, then it’s time to dry the doll.
DRYING
Drying is best achieved in a warm sunny spot. The sun helps further remove stains and odors and is the safest method of drying a doll stuffed with wool. Lay the doll with the stain facing up and leave her there for a few hours, depending on how big the spot was. If you were cleaning anywhere near the cheeks, you will need to reapply blush using the blusher scrap that she came with.
MARKERS AND CRAYONS
The next most common stain I hear about is drawing on the dolls. I’ve had messages about ink pens, permanent markers, markers, crayons….you name it. The only marker I know of that has a truly permanent stain is a dry erase marker. This is because of the make up of dry erase, it’s a particulate rather than an ink, so the little bits of powder embed themselves in the fabric and cannot be removed. It’s a lot like activated charcoal that gets used in hospitals. Anyone who has worked in an ER can attest to the fact that activated charcoal causes permanent stains. Even permanent marker isn’t truly permanent.
WATER SOLUBLE INK
To remove marker drawings from your doll, first you need to figure out if the ink is water soluble or not. Using a q-tip, add a small amount of water to the stain and see if any rubs off on the q-tip. If it does, it is most likely water soluble. If it doesn’t, move on to the next section.
For water soluble inks, you first want to remove as much of the dye as possible. Adding small amounts of water and immediately blotting them up with a clean dye-free paper towel is my favorite way of reducing the chances of bleeding. Bleeding is not an irreversible issue, but if you can keep the stain from spreading, you have a lot less work to do.
After you have blotted up as much of the ink as possible, you can use a clean q-tip to add small amounts of dish soap. Dawn dye-free works well for this. Again, work with the grain of the fabric. After the soap has been worked in, add more water and blot with a clean paper towel. Repeat these steps until the stain is no longer visible.
See the above section on Drying.
NON-WATER SOLUBLE INK
When the ink on your doll doesn’t budge with water, it’s time to try a few other tactics. Rubbing alcohol works wonders on ballpoint inks. Apply it with a clean q-tip and blot it up with a dye-free paper towel. Repeat those steps until as much of the stain as possible is removed. Then refer back to the soap and water cleaning steps to get rid of any left over residue.
For crayon marks on a doll, I have found that Carbona Dirt Devils Ink and Crayon Stain Remover works wonders. You can usually order it online, but it’s hard to find in stores. It’s easy to use and I haven’t had any bad experiences with it. Dish soap and water also works really well. If you use the Carbona, apply it liberally to the stain and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Rinse it out with some dish soap and repeat as necessary. If you don’t have access to Carbona products, wet the stain and apply some dye-free dish soap, working with the grain of the fabric. Usually, crayon marks come off with one or two tries with soap. Rinse out the soap and blot off the excess water.
For permanent markers like Sharpie, you can try the Carbona mentioned above or you can use the soap and water method. I have had reasonably good luck taking permanent marker out of these dolls with soap and water. The skin is pretty resilient and seems to respond well to the basics of cleaning. I should mention however that I have only experimented with one brand of permanent marker and different colors will be harder to remove than others.
When you have sufficiently removed the spots, you can move on to drying your doll. Frequently, any residual stain left will fade with drying, especially if you use a sunny spot.
See the above section on Drying.
ODORS
While I truly love the dolls’ ability to retain the comforting smells of home, they also can get a bit funky if they are exposed to too many yucky smells. I was sent two dolls that had survived a house fire and getting the smokey smell out of them was no picnic, but it was possible. Wool absorbs odors and hangs on to them pretty fiercely.
To remove strong odors from your doll you will need to fully wash her body. This involves filling a basin or sink with warm water with a touch of detergent in in and submerging the doll’s body. Squish the doll a little to help the water penetrate fully. Hold the doll over the water and squeeze out as much water as you can without wringing any parts of her. Then submerge her again and squeeze the excess out again. You can repeat this as many times as you’d like, depending on the severity of the odor. After you have removed as much water as you can by hand, roll the doll up in a towel and place it on the floor. Then you can step on the body to remove even more water. I know it sounds scary, but I promise that your child has probably sat on or stood on their doll, she will be fine. After this step, you can set the doll in the sun to completely dry.
See the above section on Drying.
If the odor seems to be in her hair, you will need to carefully wash the doll’s hair. You should use clean, cold water with a minimal amount of soap or detergent. These dolls have natural fiber hair and soap can be harmful to the oils in the wool. Lay the doll flat so that her hair dangles down into the water. Do not agitate the hair, but rather squeeze it gently, moving with the direction of the yarn. Do not add soap directly to the hair, just let the slightly soapy water do its job. After you have squeezed her hair under water a few times, drain the soapy water and use clean water to rinse the hair. Use a towel to absorb as much of the remaining water as possible before you set the doll out to dry.
See the above section on Drying.
VOMIT
This happens. A lot. A poor sick kiddo snuggles their doll for comfort in the night and then ends up throwing up on her. The clean up for vomit usually requires a full body and hair wash. If there is only a little vomit on the doll, spot washing would probably work.
Use a washcloth to remove any chunky bits from the doll’s skin or hair. Then after you’ve rinsed out the washcloth, add a bit of soap to it and working with the grain of the fabric, remove as much of the vomit as possible. Add some clean water to the spots and blot it up with a clean cloth or towel.
If the doll needs a full submerging bath, fill a basin or sink with warm water and a touch of detergent in it and submerge the doll’s body. Squish the doll a little to help the water penetrate fully. Hold the doll over the water and squeeze out as much water as you can without wringing any parts of her. Then submerge her again and squeeze the excess out again. You can repeat this as many times as you’d like, depending on the severity of the odor. After you have removed as much water as you can by hand, roll the doll up in a towel and place it on the floor. Then you can step on the body to remove even more water. I know it sounds scary, but I promise that your child has probably sat on or stood on their doll, she will be fine. After this step, you can set the doll in the sun to completely dry.
If the vomit seems to be in her hair, you will need to carefully wash the doll’s hair. You should use clean, cold water with a minimal amount of soap or detergent. These dolls have natural fiber hair and soap can be harmful to the oils in the wool. Lay the doll flat so that her hair dangles down into the water. Do not agitate the hair, but rather squeeze it gently, moving with the direction of the yarn. Do not add soap directly to the hair, just let the slightly soapy water do its job. After you have squeezed her hair under water a few times, drain the soapy water and use clean water to rinse the hair. Use a towel to absorb as much of the remaining water as possible before you set the doll out to dry.
See the above section on Drying.
BLOOD
Blood is actually a pretty easy fix. Hydrogen peroxide eats away proteins without damaging fabric. Apply some hydrogen peroxide with a clean q-tip, working with the grain of the fabric. Let it foam up and then rinse it off with cool water. Repeat as many times as necessary until the stain is gone.
URINE
Ok, it happens. Sometimes a little one has an accident in bed and their favorite dolly gets hit. Luckily, urine is very easy to remove. Simply wet the area that was hit with warm water and add a touch of dish soap or detergent. Work the soap in with the grain of the fabric and rinse it out. Blot the excess water off with a clean towel and let the doll dry in the sun. If the entire doll was soiled, you will need to do a submersion bath.
This involves filling a basin or sink with warm water with a touch of detergent in in and submerging the doll’s body. Squish the doll a little to help the water penetrate fully. Hold the doll over the water and squeeze out as much water as you can without wringing any parts of her. Then submerge her again and squeeze the excess out again. You can repeat this as many times as you’d like, depending on the severity of the odor. After you have removed as much water as you can by hand, roll the doll up in a towel and place it on the floor. Then you can step on the body to remove even more water. I know it sounds scary, but I promise that your child has probably sat on or stood on their doll, she will be fine. After this step, you can set the doll in the sun to completely dry.
If the odor seems to be in her hair, you will need to carefully wash the doll’s hair. You should use clean, cold water with a minimal amount of soap or detergent. These dolls have natural fiber hair and soap can be harmful to the oils in the wool. Lay the doll flat so that her hair dangles down into the water. Do not agitate the hair, but rather squeeze it gently, moving with the direction of the yarn. Do not add soap directly to the hair, just let the slightly soapy water do its job. After you have squeezed her hair under water a few times, drain the soapy water and use clean water to rinse the hair. Use a towel to absorb as much of the remaining water as possible before you set the doll out to dry.
See the above section on Drying.
OTHER
All of these cleaning tips can also be used for basic spot cleaning when the doll gets a little dirt on her face or hands. Mild soap or detergent, warm water, work with the grain, rinse and blot, and dry in the sun. We have dolls that are four or five years old and I routinely spot clean them without any problems.
Now sometimes a stain just doesn’t want to come completely out. When I run into this problem, I do try other methods. I have safely used Whink Rust Remover, Goo Gone and Armorall Tire Cleaner on stains without damaging the fabric. These are last resorts in my opinion and should not be taken lightly as they are not intended for use on fabric.
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